Cultural Capital

The environment we live and the people around us can drastically influence our lives, this is because we look for references and listen to those who are closest, usually avoiding something distant or very different from our reality or as we can say habitat.

Often there is not much understanding when taking different attitudes from the common circle we belong to, that’s because we are conditioned by Cultural Capital, a concept defined by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, which involves familiarity with the legitimate culture within a society, which can be built from 3 pillars:

• Purpose: cultural goods, books, art and others

• Embedded: language, mannerisms, preferences

• Institutionalized: qualifications, education credentials

Cultural Capital, if not expanded, can become a social constraint preventing personal development and also becoming a social class constraint. We can exemplify this when we can try to belong to any different kind of group with different habits whose interactions will be difficult due to common themes that are applied to that group.

In this way, it is extremely important that we leave our comfort zone and seek new types of knowledge and embrace new habits. Our cultural origins will certainly always be present and they are what define us as a unique being, but this does not prevent us from seeking new habits, actively listening to experiences that are different from ours, exposing ourselves to different cultures and thus consequently navigating harmoniously through distinct cultural groups.

Different capital cultural environments / circles can be of great value for those who focus on self-development, at first entering different circles can become difficult, as there will be different interpretations and lack of subjects or habits in common, but step by step the pillars that involve cultural goods, language, preferences and qualifications begin to shape the individual so that in the future he can belong to this new environment.

This way, we can consider that self-knowledge is extremely important to situate ourselves in our environment and awareness of what is around us, which will lead us to choices that may lead to development or regression.

Art: The Dream – Mikhail Gorshunov

References: Capital Cultural: O que é e como desenvolver